Virgin Isles Officers' Academy at Lionsaile
VIOLA '''or, '''Virgin Isles Officers' Academy at Lionsaile, was a Tier-1 base of operations that also served as a training facility for officer candidates in the Gaia-Military. As the name suggests, it was based in the Virgin Isles in the Caribbean region on Earth, along the northeastern edge of the Antilles. The Academy itself was based above-ground, primarily on the islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and Tortola. The territory of the Virgin Isles was lent by the Aeyzerian Empire in the early years of the war, and it was in usage until the Exodus. Between the Upper and Lower Isles, was the massive underwater biodome known as Blue Sphere No. 1. It extended deep below the ocean floor as well, in a massive geofront that completes the bottom hemisphere of Blue Sphere No. 1. From this central structure, many other biodomes based around Blue Sphere No. 1, which would later collectively be called Sphere City. Geography The Virgin Isles' anatomy had drastically changed from its natural formations since the First Infection Fall in (DATE TO BE DETERMINED), where a massive meteor crashed between the Upper and Lower Virgin Isles, thereby creating a massive tidal wave that would create a massive disaster zone that would take nearly half a century to recover from. At the time, the territory was under control of the Aeyzerian Empire, as it had been for many centuries. It was two years after the Fall that the Empire would begin terraforming projects to restore the Virgin Isles to its former beauty. Artifical islands were introduced to help bolster and restore the attractiveness of the region to the world. Eventually, on the ruins of Charlotte Amalie, the former capitol city of the Virgin Isles territory, Lionsaile was built. History The history of VIOLA is long and storied, as it was a military post that lasted for several centuries. Its construction was proposed to be on the Virgin Isles, which were, before they were Gaian, belonged to the Aeyzerian Empire - it was a officers' school, known widely as the Lionsaile Acacdemy of War (LAW). The reigning sovereign at the time, Empress Adelyna believed it necessary to proceed with the transfer of the territory, even though Aeyzerian culture at the time severely disliked any sort of assistance from any outside party. This, however, would become the best investment that the Aeyzerian Empire could make, for in N.E. 357, the Empire's eastern seaboard was constantly under attack by Entity swarms that had breached a weakened AEGIS during the Third Infection Fall. Construction After Gaia obtained legal and express permission from the Empire of Aeyzeria, they began construction immediately upon the islands on 12 July 554, breaking ground simultaneously across all the isles in the chain. Upon the isle of St. Thomas, the original Academy of War grounds, buildings and training facilities were found to be sufficient in their current state, and thusly decided to be left alone. However, the addition of several blocks of barracks to the north of the hub city of Lionsaile (Charlotte Amalie) was constructed as scheduled. However, the island-based buildings were merely a small part of the project that was to come- the construction of a massive underwater facility that would be the heart of the crater made by the First Infection Fall. The foundations of the subterreanean facilities were laid as well, with numerous exits and entries based off of the islands themselves- hundreds of constructions rigs and water walls were built to facilitate the construction of Sphere City, as the subaquatic structures would colloquially become called. A water wall was built to drain and hold water at bay until construction had finished- the massive cylindrical wall was built off-site and lowered into place by several Sky frigates that were involved in the operation. It was a year into construction that they added redundant barriers to assist in the holding back of the water, should the walls begin to deteriorate and fail. This would prove fundamental in the defense against the Entity raid in 12 April 558, when a scouting party attempted to destroy the water wall. In 559, Sphere City was completed, and the water wall was lifted afterwards. In the following years, numerous additional fits were made to the RTC (rapid transport complex) around the Virgin Isles' already existing network, now including rapid deployment runways throughout the entire facility to allow for immediate deployment from the main hangar in the lower hemisphere of Blue Sphere No. 1. These RDRs would feed out all over the Caribbean and many would also enter directly into vactrain tubes to facilitate transportation to anywhere on the globe where a military force was needed. It was because of this that VIOLA would later become the center of defense for the entire planet. in 560, the Geofront had been completely excavated and the creation of a top-secret Space-Crease gate began, which would finish in January 561. This gate would connect directly with Achre, as a way to reinforce Earth forces should it be required. By 564, all construction had been finalized and cleared by the 120th Gaia Engineering Corp, although the military academy itself had been in use since 560, and at this time had graduated its first class of officers, and the entire assigned Ocean and Tree complient of VIOLA had settled into Sphere City. Garrision Sphere City was home to and berth to many Gaia-Military units, and especially so for the Atlantic Carrier Supergroup: Safeguard, responsible for intercepting any Entity forces present in the Atlantic Ocean, and any Class-III or lower Swarms that threaten in-atmosphere Earth. Anatomy of VIOLA